Behaviours provide fast and efficient ways for you to create simple lingo scripts without having to write them yourself. Using the behaviour inspector you can choose simple scripts from the menus.

Every Lingo script is attached to an element of a director movie: a sprite on the stage, a MEMBER OF THE CAST, A FRAME OF THE SCORE, or the movie itself.

Simple lingo script exercise - create a button:
Select first frame of score, command 7 = toolbar, select the button tool, click the stage where you want the button to appear. At the blinking insertion type the word sound.

Select the sprite on the score and select new script from beside the behaviour diamond on the score. We will be creating a Sprite Script which is only in effect for as long as the sprite exists on stage. The script window appears with the default command on mouseup. Type beep directly below this. Make sure your script finishes with the word end. Click the enter key.

Beep is a lingo command that uses the system sound to make a noise.

On mouseUp is the event Handler-all event handlers begin with ON. They handle messages. Beep is the action. End completes the handler. Check your spelling always. Lingo is specific. But not in upper or lowercase: this does not matter.

(There is an alphabetical and categorized Lingo library in the script window.)

Close the script window by always pressing ENTER on the numeric keys, not the return key.

Rewind and play the movie, click on the button, you should hear a beep.

Lingo scripts are a series of instructions to director to execute specific actions in response to events in a movie. If there is a series of instructions director will execute the first instruction and then the next…

Lingo elements: categories

Commands tell a movie to do something, eg. Go to something, jumps the playback head to a specific frame.

Functions — return a value, for example date returns the current date set in the computer.

Keywords — are reserved words that have special meaning in Lingo. Eg. The is necessary in many sprite scripts preceding the property name. This keyword distinguishes the property name from a variable or object name.

Properties — are attributes of objects, eg. Ink .

Operators — are terms that change or compare one or more values. > compares greater or lesser values.

Constants — are elements that don’t change. TRUE always means the same thing. True is 1 False is 0.

Lingo scripts: several types of Lingo scripts. The type you choose to write depends on several factors: Where you store the script. The object-sprite or cast- you assign it to. Where you want the script to be available from —within 1 frame or an entire movie.

Primary event handlers are assigned from within other scripts. Run when a user clicks a mouse or time has elapsed.

Score scripts: behaviours - are stored in the score. You can assign a score script to a sprite or a frame. It is only available when the frame or sprite are active on the score.

Cast member scripts: attached to specific cast members and are available whenever the cast member appears in the score.

Movie scripts: are stored in the cast and are assigned to the entire movie.

Choose the button on stage, modify>sprite>script, replace the beep with the alert

On mouseUp
Alert "this is a message"
End

--Press enter
Play the movie and click the button, an alert box should come up.

Cast script:
Click on the button in the cast window and then click the script button in the cast window. (looks like a page with writing)

on mouseUp
alert "this is cast script"
end

Play movie, notice the sprite script is over riding your new script based on Lingo’s hierarchy of command.

Select the sprite on stage, beside the diamond select clear script. Play movie again. Should exhibit the cast script.

Frame script, shorten sprite, click in frame script, erase frame script and add:

on mouseUp
alert "this is frame script"
end

Play movie — you will see the cast script. Dismiss the box and click anywhere but on the button, should see the frame script. OK

command shift>U, opens movie script:

on mouseUp
alert "this is movie script"
end

To pause the playback head on a frame while still running animations and looped sound use the following in a frame script. This allows the user to look around and explore your environment.

On exit frame
Go the frame
End

Create markers for some different sections. Place some cast members in the various sections.

Cast script, select button, click on script in cast,

on mouseUp
go to "twist"
end --will take you to twist marker

Back button: takes you to marker main - cast: select member, click script,

To go to a specific frame of a different movie:
on mouseUp
go to frame 20 of movie "dull.dir"
end

or

on mouseUp
go to "main" of movie "dull.dir"
end
--main refers to the marker name

To quit a movie:
on mouseUp
halt
end

Halt quits your movie after you make a projector but just stops it when you are testing in a movie.

A sprite’s outer edges define the bounding rectangle/boundary edges. While the pointer stays within the bounding rect. Director receives continuous mouse within messages

On exitframe
Go loop
End

Sends the playback head back to previous marker. This is great to keep a short animation going while still offering alternatives.

Cast script:

on mouseUp
go to "main"
end

on mouseEnter
go to frame "other"
end

--this loops the frame between markers when the mouse is in the bounding box.

on mouseLeave
go to frame "main"
end

-for an animation to which you want all frames of sprites to respond the same way, shift click for multiple selection and click on the sprite script box — new script

on mouseUp
go to "main"
end

----------------------------------------------
cast script:

on mouseEnter
set the memberNum of sprite 2 to 14
end
--this switches sprite on mouse enter.

---------------------------------------------------
cast script:

on mouseEnter
repeat while the mouseDown —while mouse button is held down--
if rollover (2) = TRUE then —and the mouse is over sprite in channel2--
set the memberNum of sprite 2 to 14 —swap sprites-2 refers to channel # --
else --otherwise--
set the memberNum of sprite 2 to 12 —switch back sprites--
end if --end the if action--
updatestage --redraw changes on stage--
end repeat
end

on mouseUp
set the memberNum of sprite 2 to 12
--when mouse is released reset the sprite in channel #2 cast member to cast # 12

LocH and locV - Horizontal and vertical location of sprite. + is up or to the right/ - is to the left or down.

on MouseUp
set the locV of sprite 1 to the locV of sprite 1-30 - - this sets the location of sprite 1 to 30 frames to the left of where it currently is.
end

The following sets turns the trails of sprite in channel 2 to on and constrains the movement of sprite in channel to to the bounding box of sprite in channel 3.

on startMovie
set the trails of sprite 2 = TRUE
set the constraint of sprite 2 to 3
end